


Sweetie

by Ladycat



Series: The Adventures of Meredith Sheppard-McKay [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-12 00:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1179565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladycat/pseuds/Ladycat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Rodney called her 'sweetie' the whole lab stared.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweetie

The first time Rodney called her 'sweetie' the whole lab stared.

"What?" Rodney blinked, absently shoving a spoonful of something bright blue and mushy into his daughter's mouth. He'd gotten pretty good at functioning as Doctor McKay and Daddy simultaneously, something that regularly threw just about everyone for a loop. Well, except for John. John always gave him a dark, private smile that absolutely did not make Rodney squirm.

It just made him _want_ to.

"Er. Nothing," Zelenka said, smile a sickly, twisted parody of his normal manic grin. "Is nothing, everyone go back to work."

The rest of the lab complied with its usual reluctance, heads turning long after their bodies did to try and catch yet one more glimpse of Rodney and his progeny. It was getting more than a little old. Mere was almost four months, and Rodney had been very clear that no, a baby was _not_ going to interfere with his job as Chief Science Officer, so not long after Mere's third-week-anniversary, Rodney was back in his labs, where he belonged, Mere in a clever little papoose-like thing that Teyla had given him. Wasn't that familiarity and contempt thing supposed to kick in after four months?

Rodney got in another spoonful, crooning nonsense, before the pressure of too many eyes descended again. "What!" he shouted, startling Mere into getting blue goop all over herself. Rodney ignored it; soap and water were his two best friends. "This is not the first time you have seen me feed my baby daughter. I'm sure this is fascinating as I have _ears_ and am well aware of what everyone's been saying about my 'miraculous' ability to take care of her, but seriously, _what is your problem?"_

Dead silence. Mere had never met a dead silence she didn't enjoy and sent up a burbling, blue-goop filled giggle, setting off a cascade effect as all the women and a good chunk of the men giggled with her and then _awwed_ like the morons they were.

Rodney didn't verbally 'aww'. Neither did John. It was one of the reasons Rodney appreciated the other man so much.

They _internalized_ their 'awws' like any other decent, adult male!

Finally, the twittering died out into nervous shuffling. Rodney glared, pinning Miko last since she was usually good for a muttered, rambling explanation that would annoy Radek into providing a clearer, more concise version, allowing Rodney to either eviscerate or ignore the offending issue and return to higher priorities, like his _actual job_.

"You called her 'sweetie'," Miko said with surprising efficiency. "It is -- you have never done such a thing before."

Well of course he hadn't. Because calling her something so patronizing and blatantly misogynistic was something Rodney worked very, very hard not to --

Oh, he was going to _kill_ him!

Miko took a terrified step back, Radek -- ever the gallant gentleman Rodney's big, white ass; one day Rodney was going to lock the two of them in a room with some condoms, just so they got the damned hint already and stopped playing courting games -- gliding in front of her like a well-choreographed ballet. "Rodney?" he asked nervously, one hand fiddling with the wisp of hair that always flew frizzy and free over his left temple. "Perhaps you could explain why you look so, ah. Murderous?"

"Because I'm going to kill him," Rodney said. It sounded very much like _because I want the mashed potatoes tonight._

No one looked reassured. "Do you mean Colonel Sheppard, perhaps?"

What? That shook Rodney out of his impending plans of torture and mayhem -- far more refined after living in the Pegasus galaxy -- to look quizzically at Radek. "What? John?" It still gave him a thrill to be able to say that name in public, one he ruthlessly suppressed each and every time. "No, of course not. What are you talking about? Oh, I know. You want to _warn_ whoever it is that's corrupted me to the point where I am calling my daughter 'sweetie', because according to your patriarchal and backward views, that's a _good thing."_

A sudden sharp, glad cry from Mere had the entire lab whirling to see Ronon amble up to Mere's papoose-thingie, scooping her up into his arms like she wasn't covered in blue goop, rubbing noses with her. "Hey, sweetie," he crooned, too big, and too hairy, and almost frighteningly competent. There were a bevy of ladies who swooned every time Ronon handled Mere with all the gentleness Rodney could demand. "Have you been good today?"

Mere laughed, smacking his cheeks in her happiness, while Rodney slumped into a chair and covered his face with his hands. Doomed. He was doomed. Because no one was going to gainsay _Ronon_ from calling Mere anything he wanted, least of all Rodney who was not about to lose his best and most trusted baby sitter. "I hate you," Rodney said to his palms.

"Nah, he doesn't," Ronon told Rodney's daughter, clucking at her lightly when she tried to climb onto his shoulder. How his child had no fear of heights was a big a mystery as her growing mop of dark hair. It drove Rodney _mad_. "Does he, sweetie?"

Mere blew baby-bubbles at him, then twisted around to blow them in Rodney's direction.

Against the wall, slumped and slinky and looking far too damned good for Rodney's humiliation, John added, "You know you've been calling her that for a while now, right?"

No. He hadn't. "I'm just -- I have work," he said with as much dignity as he could muster. It wasn't much, but if he arched his back enough and kept his chin high enough, he might fool some people into thinking there was more of it. "Please just -- go do your baby sitting thing," he half-sneered.

He couldn't manage a full sneer, not when it was John and Ronon.

"C'mon, sweetie," John crooned, holding his arms out for Mere to lean down and give him her customary wet smack of a kiss. He held her lightly, hands huge against her tiny, chubby arms, and didn't try to remove her from Ronon's grasp. Only Rodney had that right, and it usually involved tears and screaming, regardless. 

John had a smear of blue goop on his cheek. One he was not aware of, because he didn't try to wipe it off.

"Thieves," he groused. Ronon and John rolled their eyes simultaneously while Mere watched with fascinated interest. He fought down a moment's panic when he saw that -- he had to get over this idea that they were going to ruin her for life with their various personal insanities. Eye-rolling was the right of every teenaged girl everywhere. If Mere _didn't_ do that, he'd probably be more worried.

Oh, god, Mere as a teenager.

Caught in mid-not-so-repressed-panic, when a hand landed on his shoulder Rodney jumped like he'd been scalded. "What!" he shouted at Radek.

Who just grinned at him, amused. "Come, come. Your sitters have your daughter and you need to work on this new equation with me. Force field is not balancing right and needs your delicate touch."

"You're just buttering me up," Rodney groused, buttered up.

Radek just laughed. "Of course. Also, is not the end of the world to call little girl 'sweetie'. You should do so more often. Makes you more human."

By that time they'd reached the private alcove only the two of them went inside uninvited, the rest of the lab cut off and muffled by the clever shield Radek had created. It didn't block sound, exactly, or physical presence, exactly, but both required more effort to push through, allowing for the perfect teacher's lounge area, where they could work without disruption and still maintain an eye on the rest of the lab, should their presence be needed.

Safely hidden from the rest of the world, Rodney glared as sourly as his amusement allowed for. "You mean it makes the rest of the lab insane," he translated.

"Yes, of course. What did you think I meant? Now, we have perhaps an hour before the Colonel requires you to inform Ronon he has done something wrong again, despite doing nothing but taking excellent care of your daughter. We should hurry, yes?"


End file.
